


Clicking Into Place

by Katybug1992



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend, Consensual Infidelity, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I got hit in the Kid Line feelings unexpectedly and this happened, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:01:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26651830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992
Summary: “Hey, Stranger.”And TJ would recognize that voice anywhere - even if he was more used it now yapping away at him across the ice, trying to throw him off.And TJ whirled around from where he had been facing the luggage carousel and took in the man in front of him. His hair was longer - just slightly, he had filled out and become able to grow facial hair (better than TJ, anyway), but that smile and those eyes…. They were just like TJ remembered them being the day they met.
Relationships: Patrik Berglund/T. J. Oshie/David Perron (past), T. J. Oshie/David Perron
Kudos: 10





	Clicking Into Place

Whenever TJ looked at David, he saw the kid - a few years younger than himself - who had a hard time shutting up, even before he got the hang of English. They would get try to together whenever their paths crossed, but this was going to be different. This was All-Star Weekend. This was All-Star Weekend in the city that they got their starts in, that TJ still remembered fondly, that David was on his third tour of duty in. The city that brought them - and Bergie - together. The city that threw everything they had into voting him and Perry into the Game.

“Hey, Stranger.”

And TJ would recognize that voice anywhere - even if he was more used it now yapping away at him across the ice, trying to throw him off.

And TJ whirled around from where he had been facing the luggage carousel and took in the man in front of him. His hair was longer - just slightly, he had filled out and become able to grow facial hair (better than TJ, anyway), but that smile and those eyes…. They were just like TJ remembered them being the day they met.

“Hey, Perry,” TJ grinned, swallowing down all the feelings that were running at warp speed through his head, and crossed the distance between them and they seemed to crash into each other’s arms.

And it should have felt weird, standing in the middle of baggage claim, holding each other like they were afraid to let go. But it felt…. Right. It felt like a piece of TJ that had been slightly out of place for several years, finally slipped back into place. 

There was still a Patrik shaped hole in TJ’s heart but he knew that Perry had that same hole in his. Because the three of them. They had been deemed the future, the pressure was on them. And to help each other out, they fell into each other. It was easier when TJ and Patrik had lived together, but then they were told by their agents that it would help their images to live separately - especially with Lauren graduating and joining TJ in St. Louis.

Then Perry was traded to Edmonton and then TJ found himself going to DC a couple years later. And even when they did see each other, the most they had time for was dinners. And, even then, after TJ was traded to DC, it was never the three of them together. Even on Perry’s second round with the Blues, the schedule hadn’t allowed for even dinners when they faced-off against each other.

And now...TJ and David were both married with kids and Patrik was in Sweden again and getting healthy mentally - TJ tried to check in with him as much as he could. Because while they didn’t hook up anymore, and hadn’t for a while now, Patrik still meant so much to him. They were leaders in their locker rooms, examples to the kids on their teams - which was a scary thought when TJ lingered too long on it. 

But this weekend… TJ and David could have this weekend, if they both wanted it. Lauren had given him the okay, put the thought in his head actually. She mentioned that she had talked to Vanessa. And TJ didn’t even know that they had kept in touch but apparently they did. She went out of her way to mention that Patrik and David were always and forever his free passes. Because she knew what they meant to him. 

And Perry clung to TJ just as tight as TJ was clinging to him and TJ no longer regretted deciding to fly in Wednesday night because there was no press waiting to get photos of arriving All-Stars, no fans milling around, no one to look at the two grown men afraid to be the first to let go.

“On three?” David muttered into his shoulder, the same way TJ had the first time they had seen each other after Perry went to Edmonton.

TJ huffed out a laugh but started the countdown and when he reached three, they pulled away at the same time.

“I didn’t know you were picking me up,” TJ muttered, not able to look away from that smile he had always adored, the one that was almost too big for Perry’s face.

“I told Jax not to worry about it,” David replied as they headed over to grab TJ’s bags, “Said I had to share you with the alumni tomorrow and then with the Petros and that we had been trying to figure out a time for us to catch up.”

“You staying at the hotel?” TJ’s voice was soft as they grabbed his stuff and headed out of the airport.

“I was planning on it tonight,” David sent him a brief look, “since you have a room with two beds after all.”

“You’re really gonna make me sleep alone?” TJ’s eyes sparkled as he looked over at the slightly shorter man.

“Only if you want me to.” David grinned.

And TJ laughed, throwing a free arm over David’s shoulders and pulled him close.

Only when they were on the highway did either of them speak again.

“So… fully disclosure… Lauren told me before I left that you… you and Patrik… you’re my -”

“Free passes?” David flicked his gaze over to TJ, “Vanessa said the same thing.”

“We don’t have to do anything,” TJ watched the headlights wash over David as he drove - took note of the fact that his driving skills were much improved from the last time TJ had made the mistake of riding with him - and watched as David bit his lip, “we can just talk. I - We haven’t had time to catch up, really talk, in a long time.”

“My number hasn’t changed.” David responded, keeping his eyes firmly on the road.

“I let you drift,” TJ bit his lip, thinking over the words he had written in head since he found out that he and David had both made the Game, “And I’m so sorry. I didn’t… I know you always felt like it was me and Patrik featuring you and when you went to Edmonton… I didn’t know what to say to you. And neither did Patrik. And then I went to DC and we were all separated. And even when you came back here, the second time… I know you and Patrik didn’t -”

“Patrik didn’t want to talk about it, not really,” David replied, “I… I made him. Because by then Vanessa and I were married, we had Mason. And I didn’t… We yelled it out, in the middle of fucking Forest Park, and then we fine. You and I… we never got that. Vanessa, she always said that it wouldn’t be cheating if it was with you guys, because you hold my heart the same as she does.”

“That’s what Lauren said,” TJ gave David a small smile.

“Have you… have you talked to Patrik?” David asked, sounding almost scared of the answer.

“I try to check in with him, he doesn’t always answer,” TJ replied, “I was thinking I may drop in on this this Summer, his dad gave me his address.”

“Maybe I could come with you,” David responded, “I don’t reach out as much as I should. And I really didn’t when he needed me to.”

“Don’t kick yourself for that,” TJ’s voice was hard, the way it used to get when David was blaming himself for a loss in their rookie year, “It was a bad situation and I know I probably waited too long to reach out. And when I did…. I didn’t know what to say to him.”

“We played Buffalo pretty early in the season last year,” David replied, “I showed up at his place and I knew he wasn’t okay. But I…”

“We weren’t the only ones who didn’t know… or who knew something was wrong and didn’t do anything.” 

“But we knew him! We knew him better than anyone. We should have known sooner. I should have known the first time he left me one read. He never did that before. Even when we were unsteady with each other, he always responded to texts.”

“If you should have known the first time he left you on read, I should have known the first time he let me go to voicemail. But we were both distracted by other things. I thought he was just wanting to adjust to Buffalo before he talked to me. We both thought he just needed space.”

“We should have known better. I mean… no one knows him better than us.”

“Maybe you should come to Sweden with me.”

“Let me know when you’re going.”

They settled into a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride to the hotel.

+

TJ somehow managed to keep his hands off David until they got to his room. And David was leaning against the door with that smirk that used to infuriate TJ - half because it was usually directed at him when they were still out with the team and half because it usually meant he was in for a long night.

“Hi,” David pushed himself off the wall and into TJ’s space.

“Hi,” TJ grinned down and him, hands settling on David’s hips as David ran his through TJ’s hair - still long but the curls were slightly more controlled than they had been.

When TJ couldn’t resist the urge to kiss him any longer, closing the distance between them. And David returned the kiss, both tentative at first and then instinct kicked in. And kissing David felt just as right as it did the first time they kissed, all those years ago. It was like coming home. 

TJ’s grip on David’s hips tightened as they moved through the room, not wanting to let each other go for a second, only breaking the kiss when they collapsed clumsily onto the closest bed, giggling breathlessly against each other’s mouths.

David reconnected their lips as he slowly moved on top of TJ, who was content to let the younger man do whatever he wanted. They both groaned as David ground down on TJ for the first time in seven years and TJ never wanted anything more than he wanted both of them naked right then. And he knew that David knew what he was thinking because the man had started trailing teasing kissed down TJ’s neck, grinding just barely against TJ, and the older man let out a whine as David started working on leaving a mark.

“Still needy,” David laughed against TJ’s collarbone.

“Still a tease,” TJ fired back.

David just laughed brightly in response before tugging at TJ’s shirt.

“Now who’s needy?” TJ raised an eyebrow and still hurried out of his shirt and pulled David’s off for good measure.

David just laughed and ducked his head down, taking one of TJ’s nipples between his teeth and tugging, smirking to himself at TJ’s hiss.

“How long?” TJ asked him, handing going to the back of David’s head and arching his back.

“You know how long,” David looked back at him, eyes shining earnestly. And David had always been a bad liar. Always said what his thinking, always showed what he was feeling. Like all the media training they did had gone in one ear and out the other. And maybe it had. Maybe David really didn’t understand what they were saying since he had still been getting the hang of English.

“Really? You never -”

“You and Patrik… you were the only two guys I ever -”

And TJ needed to kiss him again. And David welcomed it, lowering himself down over TJ again, resting on his forearms as TJ controlled the kiss.

“What do you want?” David asked softly, brushing his lips against TJ’s ear and smiling when TJ still shuddered at the action. It may have been several years but he still knew TJ and TJ’s body.

“For you to being a fucking tease and fuck me,” TJ responded, giving in a lot quicker than he had when they were younger. Back then David and Patrik could draw this part out for an hour or more before TJ would ask for it, draw everything else out for even longer before he was begging for it.

“Did you bring anything?” David asked, biting down on TJ’s arm because he never really outgrew being a pest.

“Yeah,” TJ eased himself out from under David and went over to his bag, “Lauren gift wrapped it.”

David threw his head back and laughed and TJ’s attention caught on the line of his throat. When he got back to the bed, he dropped the lube next to David and pulled him in for another kiss. This one hungrier and more rushed than the others had been, with more biting.

“Take your damn pants off,” TJ huffed as he pulled away, ignoring the way David laughed again.

“Impatient,” David responded, still complying with the request, “we have all night.”

“Please,” TJ rolled his eyes, “We’re older than we used to be. We’ll have one go tonight in us.”

“Maybe you’re getting old,” David rolled his eyes, “I, however, am still twenty-two.”

“In your head, maybe.” TJ responded, eyes shining with amusement and David squawked.

“Maybe I won’t be nice to you tonight,” David huffed.

“I never liked it when you were nice to me,” TJ sent him a grin, the grin growing as he watched David’s brain short-circuit. 

The nights when David made TJ wait for it, sometimes hours, were always memories they both came back to. Nights where David and Patrik worked TJ over, made him forget about the pressure of being the face of the organization, nights that left the the three of them completely drained. Nights where it was just David and TJ, where David spent hours teasing TJ, keeping him right on the edge before letting him finally tip over, again and again. Nights where TJ would press David into the bed, threaten to tie him down if he didn’t stop moving. 

The first night that David joined him and Patrik and how pretty David had looked on his knees, taking Patrik’s cock all the way down to the root - surprising both TJ and Patrik (TJ had had to work up that, Patrik had been bigger than any of the guys TJ had sucked off before). And just like on ice, David had slotted in perfectly with them. To the point where, even when he wasn’t physically with them, he still seemed to be there. Like a phantom limb.

“Where did you go?” David asked soft, gently pushing TJ’s hair out of his eyes.

“Nowhere bad. Just thinking about when we were younger.” TJ replied, kissing David softly before rolling onto this back and thrusting the lube at David, “Carefully. And avoid my prostate. I want this to last.”

David chuckled and dropped a kiss on the inside of TJ’s knee, “So I shouldn’t suck you off while I open you?”

TJ just groaned at that image and put a pillow over his face, ignoring David’s laughter.

TJ whimpered at the first press, wanting more than the light pressure and David grinned, “Cold?”

“Shut up.” TJ narrowed his eyes before widening them and moaning as David pushed the finger in with that smirk TJ loved and hated - and missed so much more than he thought he ever would.

David made quick work of the prep, before standing up and going over to his discarded jeans, pulling out a strip of condoms from the back pocket. When TJ raised an eyebrow at him, he responded, “Vanessa slipped them into my pocket before I left to pick you up.”

TJ laughed and made himself comfortable against the pillows as David rolled the condom on. David looked up and huffed out a laugh as TJ made grabby hands at him. And David had never been able to deny TJ anything, not really.

“You sure you’re good?” David asked, bracing himself over TJ.

“Yeah,” TJ nodded, looping his arms around David’s shoulders and pulling him down into a kiss.

David broke the kiss, resting his forehead against TJ’s as he pushed in, both men’s eyes slipping shut at the familiar-but-unfamiliar feeling. TJ’s hands moved to David’s shoulders and he tightened his grip on them as David eased in, pausing when he knew TJ needed him to. Because he still knew TJ. 

They stayed like that, just breathing, as they adjusted before TJ threaded one hand into David’s hair and yanked a little. David laughed but obliged, starting to thrust in and out at a slow, even pace, smirking down at TJ - who glowered at him in return.

“You know I can take it harder than that,” TJ growled.

“It’s been a while, though,” David replied with a smirk, “Don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t,” TJ replied earnest, “You never could. Even when you wanted to.”

Because it was true. David, for all that he was annoying and had a mouth on him and could get a little punchy… he could never bring himself to hurt TJ - or Patrik - with his words or actions. Not even playing against them. He always seemed to hold back. Because David was fiercely loyal, even when it didn’t always seem like the people he cared about cared about him the same way. And TJ had done enough just by simply ignoring David or not reaching out to him for even a minute of his spare time to hurt David.

“Teej,” David breathed out, kissing him again. Breaking about, he mumbled, “we really need to talk.”

“After you fuck me,” TJ rolled his hips and David huffed out a breath, but his expression was so fond.

And that spurred David on, thrusting into TJ harder, quicker, and hitting his prostate with deadly accuracy - like he still vividly remembered TJ’s body as well as TJ is pretty sure he still remembered David’s. Maybe he’d get the chance to test that this weekend. 

“Can you still come like this?” David panted out. And TJ knew he was close, the corner’s of his eyes still tightened a bit.

“I don’t know,” TJ replied honestly.

And David adjusted his position, holding himself up with one arm while he took TJ in his other hand, stroking him to completion before tumbling over himself, both of them crying out.

David pulled out and rolled to TJ’s side and they both laid there trying to catch their breaths.

“Still as good as you remember?” David looked over at TJ after a minute.

“Yeah,” TJ grinned, leaning over to kiss David, “we should take a shower. Or at the least move to the other bed.”

And David whined but let TJ pull him up after another minute. And their shower was really just lazily making out while the water than over them for the first ten minutes before they actually cleaned themselves off.

TJ threw a pair of gym shorts at him as he pulled on his own pajama pants. And it felt familiar. David already under the covers of the second bed, scrolling through his phone.

TJ turned the light off and climbed into the other side of the bed, pulling David’s phone from his hand and putting it on Do Not Disturb.

“Pay attention to me,” TJ whined, pouting in the dark at David.

“Needy.”

“Always.”

David laughed took his phone back, setting it on the nightstand before turning over on his side to look at TJ.

“Think we should have that talk now?” he laced, lacing their fingers together.

And they did. They talked about everything that was very right, and very wrong. Everything that had been broken and everything that needed to be fixed. They got caught up on each other’s lives, actually caught up, on the good and the bad. The only thing missing was….

“We need to talk to Patrik,” TJ whispered, voice sad, “It doesn’t feel right just fixing us.”

“Because it was always the three of us.” David finished the thought.

“The three of us against the world.” TJ squeezed their hands.

“So we go see him this Summer,” David replied, “we’ll make it work.”

And TJ had to lean over and kiss him again.

“Come on, we have to get some sleep,” David laughed, “we have to be at the Petros’ at eleven so you can finally meet the triplets and then we’re supposed to be at Jax’s at two. And Janny and Walt are gonna be there and they still like to try to Fine. And they actually made me pay up last time.”

“Oh, God…” TJ’s eyes widened, “Walt’s boys are both in the Game…. Both in the League.”

“I know.” David replied, “It’s crazy.”

“Now I know how Nicke feels when it comes to the Nylanders.”

“Took you this long?”

“Just kind of hit me. We’re getting old, Perry.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“Right, right, you’ll never be a day over twenty-two.” TJ’s eyes sparkled with amusement, “Are you still a little spoon?”

“....yes.”

TJ laughed again and wrapped his arms around David.

“Wanna fuck me in the morning?” 

“Jesus Christ, Perry.”

“What?”

“Go to sleep you menace.”

“Whatever you say, Bossy.”

And TJ muffled his laughter against David’s shoulder.

“Good night, OshBabe,” David whispered, lacing their fingers together where they rested over his stomach.

“Good night, Frenchie,” TJ pressed a kiss to the back of David’s neck.


End file.
